Naresh Agarwal apologises; blames media for ''misreporting'' his comment
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 13
Newest Bharatiya Janata Party leader Naresh Agarwal on Tuesday apologised for having made “sexist” remarks at Samajwadi Party leader Jaya Bachchan, but also blamed the press for misreporting his comments.
A day after he called his former SP colleague Bachchan "filmon main nachne aur kaam karne wali” (a woman who danced and worked in movies) at a ceremony in which he was inducted into the BJP, Agarwal claimed that the remark was “misrepresented” by the press, and that his original remark could be found on footage of news channels as well as BJP’s own in-house broadcaster.
Agarwal parted ways with the SP after the party passed over him to re-nominate Bachchan to Rajya Sabha. The remark was not well received within Agarwal’s new party, with several senior BJP members, including Sushma Swaraj, condemning his statements.
Congress leader Renuka Chowdhary—who had been criticised last month for laughing during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech—is believed likely to raise the matter in the ongoing session of Parliament.
For BJP, Agarwal’s statement has presented it with an embarrassing situation, especially given his controversial remarks against the prime minister days before he joined the party.
